Kidge Summer Event 2018
by Melodic Ascent
Summary: The response to the three prompts for the Kidge Summer Event of 2018. Day 1: Sunrise/Sunset Day 2: Beach Day 3: Festival/Carnival And yes, I'm late. Sorry about that.
1. Chapter 1

Kidge Summer Event Prompt 1: Sunrise/Sunset

Title: It All Ends With You

Summer in Utah was the same every year: hot and dry. Pidge had always wondered why the state only outlawed aerial fireworks instead of all fireworks. It was fire season, and as usual, the state itself seemed to be burning.

Some of the fires were natural, of course. But for the most part, they were human caused. Now that Pidge was back from space and had learned about her connection with nature, it pissed her off more than ever that people weren't being more careful.

Pidge had grown up in Utah, but her family had moved to Arizona to be closer to the Galaxy Garrison after her father was hired on as a part of the staff. They still had family in Utah, though, and were visiting for the summer. She'd decided to bring Keith with her, because Krolia had taken a "vacation" in space to tie up some loose ends with the Blade of Marmora. Since all of the other paladins had families to be with, Pidge had taken Keith in, insisting that they had plenty of room for the man.

What she didn't expect was his horrible sleep schedule.

Pidge was woken up at what could only be described as five o' dark in the morning. Music was playing from the room next to hers, and she could hear grunts, presumable from Keith's morning workout. She groaned and rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head in a vain attempt to block it out and get more sleep.

This, of course, didn't work.

Keith nearly jumped when he heard the thud from the next room. It sounded as though somebody had kicked the wall in frustration. He paled as he realized two things:

One: Pidge was in the room next to his

Two: She was NOT a morning person.

It had been a while since he'd stayed with any of the members of team Voltron, having spent the last year since the war ended with Krolia in his house in the desert or at the Garrison. Krolia was usually up even earlier than him, and he'd forgotten that not everyone likes to work out in the early morning.

He heard the creaking of the bed next door moving. He gulped, realizing that Pidge had stood up. He frantically scrambled for his phone so he could turn of his music, but couldn't get there before his door was thrown open.

"Kogane, I swear, if you don't turn that music off, I will make you suffer in ways worse than even the Galra could imagine."

Keith turned around to find Pidge in an oversized night shirt and gym shorts, bags under here furious eyes. Her hair was a mess. Oh, and she was holding her bayard.

"You can keep your bayards and armor," Allura had told them. "You never know when you're going to need them."

The ominous green glow told Keith that her bayard was charged and could electrocute him at any moment.

Pidge glared at Keith, which didn't take much effort since she was already squinting from his light. Normally, she would have been flustered at seeing Keith in nothing but his boxers, but it was too early for that. She had only gone to bed a few hours previous, and was not about to lose any more of her precious sleep just because Keith wanted to keep his body toned.

Pidge turned off the light. "Either go back to sleep or go to a gym. I'm not dealing with this." The only light from the room was from her bayard and Keith's phone, which he was holding in his hands as he finally managed to shut the music off.

Pidge reached for the door, but stopped, seemingly distracted by something. Keith followed her eyes to his window, where a faint red glow seemed to emanate. He stood up and looked through the blinds. "Oh my gosh…Pidge, come look at this."

Grabbing the pull chord, he lifted the window blinds to reveal the beginnings of sunrise. It wasn't bright enough yet to be painful, and the pair leaned against the window sill as they watched the sun climb over the mountains.

"Wow, now that's spectacular. Hey, Pidge, why is it so red?"

But she was already asleep, leaning against his bare chest.

Pidge woke up many hours later. It looked like Keith had carried her back to her own bed after she fell asleep watching the sunrise. She chuckled at the thought of him trying to maneuver her through the doorways without waking her up.

Looking at her phone, she sighed in happiness as she realized that she'd managed to get a lot more sleep. It was almost 2:00 in the afternoon. Just how she liked it. She also had a message from Keith.

"Text me when you get up. I'll spend the day with you to make up for waking you up so early."

She smiled. He really was a sweet guy. Maybe that's why her entire family, including the relatives they were staying with, wanted them to get together. He was just…well, perfect.

"I'm awake. What exactly do you have planned?"

She got dressed and headed downstairs as she waited for his response. Turned out she didn't need her phone.

"Here," Keith said, handing her a bowl of soup. "You missed out on lunch, so I had this in the microwave. I set the timer as soon as you said you were up."

"Thanks, man." She gladly ate the soup. The biggest culture shock in coming back to Earth had definitely been the food. No more disgusting green goo. Initially, all of the paladins' pallets had rejected the Earth food, and they were all sick for the first few days they were home. After recovering, however, they were happy to have food with actual flavor again.

It wasn't particularly special. Just some Campbell's vegetable soup. That didn't stop it from being good, though. Keith was surprised at how quickly Pidge drained the bowl. She smiled up at him, and he couldn't help but find it adorable. "Thanks, Keith. I really appreciate it."

He turned away to hide his blush. "Yeah, well, it was no big deal. I just wanted you to eat so you're not hungry while we're out later."

"Out? Is that what you had in mind when you said you wanted to spend the day with me?"

Keith grinned. "Well, you haven't been able to ride my hover bike since we kidnapped Shiro. How'd you like to see how fast it moves when there's not five people piled on it?"

Pidge couldn't believe her ears. Keith hated giving people rides. He must really have felt bad about that morning.

"I'd love to, Keith!" She didn't mean to sound so giddy about it, but she did anyway, and covered her mouth in embarrassment. "I mean, uh, sounds cool, I guess."

Keith punched her arm. "Stop trying to act like me, you weirdo. Grab whatever you think you'll need for a day out and meet me out front."

At first, they weren't going to any particular destination. They got frozen custard from Culver's and ate it at a playground, to the confusion of all the kids playing there. Riding on Keith's bike felt so liberating. She hadn't felt so exhilarated since the last time she flew the Green Lion. It had been a year since the lions were returned to the Castle of Lions, which usually stayed near the Galaxy Garrison unless it was away on diplomatic missions.

Keith was glad Pidge couldn't see his face, because he knew full well that he'd be blushing as she clung desperately to his waist.

He was surprised at the backpack she brought. It seemed to be stuffed full of who knows what, but didn't appear to be all that heavy. He was torn from his thoughts as Pidge tapped his shoulder and he pulled over.

"Hey, I have an idea, but first, we should grab some dinner. It's almost seven."

The closest restaurant was Arctic Circle.

"It somehow feels weird to be spending less on our meals than we did on the custard we bought earlier," Keith muttered as he paid for their food.

"That's because that was good quality custard. This is mediocre fast food. It does, however, have great fry sauce."

"Fry sauce?" Keith asked in confusion as they sat at a table.

"Oh right, I forgot that fry sauce is a Utah thing. The most basic fry sauce is just ketchup and mayonnaise mixed together, but a lot of restaurants get a bit classier than that, making some really good sauces. To me, it's always good no matter how it's made. Even home made is fine."

"Ketchup…and…mayonnaise? Who on Earth thought of combining those two?"

"Someone smart, apparently, because it's really good. Try it."

Keith was surprised at how good the strange sauce was. "Why don't more people know about this?"

"Probably because their initial reaction is similar to yours: ketchup and mayonnaise don't make a new sauce."

"Well then I'll have to tell them they're wrong. Anyway, what was the idea you had?"

Pidge glanced out the window and grinned. "Okay, there's a spot I want you to take me to. It's called Potato Hill. It's not super far from here."

It didn't take Keith long to realize what Pidge was doing. When they got to the hill, there were a few couples and small groups of people on the lower part of the hill. Pidge grabbed his hand. "Come on, we need to go all the way to the top."

He got up there and gazed in amazement at the view. From their position, they could see the entire Salt Lake Valley. The sun was setting over the Oquirrh Mountains on the other side. It was a much deeper red than the sunrise they had witnessed that morning. Their seemed to be an entire rainbow of colors in the sky.

"Pidge…this is…"

"The smoke created from all of the fires is really bad for the air quality, but I'll be darned if it doesn't make some of the prettiest sunsets. My brother showed this place to me years ago, and it was one of the few places I wished I could come back to while we were in space. Now I have that chance, and I get to spend it with you."

"Me? What makes me so special?" Keith helped Pidge lay out a blanket from her backpack.

"You'll have to wait and see."

They sat on the blanket, bundled up together in another one, watching the sun set. Soon enough, it was getting dark.

"I once read some cheesy thing online," Pidge said, breaking their long silence. "If you count the stars and say some silly verse, then repeat that for ten days, counting first ten stars, then nine, and so forth, then on the last night you'll dream about the person you're supposed to marry."

Keith snorted. "Sounds cheesy. Have you tried it?"

Pidge smiled. "I have. And you're right, it's just a bunch of baloney."

Keith was about to say something more, but stopped, looking at something behind Pidge. "What's that glow?"

Curious, the two walked to the northern edge of the hill and were astonished to discover that they were right above the Draper Utah LDS Temple. "That's one of those Mormon temples, isn't it?"

"Well yeah, they're all over the state. You can see at least three just in this valley."

"It's really pretty from up here."

"You should see the inside. I've only seen a little of it, but it's amazing. Some day I want to see the rest."

"You're Mormon?" Keith asked, somewhat surprised.

"I am. My whole family is. Why do you think I have so many relatives in Utah?"

"Then…how do you see the rest of the temple?"

"There's a few different ways, but one way…" she laced her fingers through his. "…is to get married."

Keith smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"After the tenth night," she said, continuing her previous conversation, "the person I dreamed about was you."

Okay, so I know I'm late to the event. Like, way late. But hey, at least I'm participating. There's only three prompts, but I intend to fill them all, so stay tuned for the other two!

Yes, these are all real locations. I'm from Utah. Potato Hill is one of the best places to go stargazing and watch the sunset. I went up there recently, and with all of the fires around the state, the sunset was amazing. And the temple seemed to cast a glow on the mountain it's nestled up against.

No, of course none of the characters are canonically Mormon. This is probably the only time I'll ever bring it up, since I don't want to spark controversy and sound preachy.


	2. Chapter 2

Kidge Summer Event 2018 Prompt 2: Beach

Title: Low Tide

Keith was uncertain. That was the best word to describe how he felt.

He wasn't used to the salty smell in the air. Or the insane humidity, for that matter. It all felt so foreign to him. He'd grown up in a desert, surrounded by nothing but sand. That sand was course, though. This sand was soft and almost welcoming. And he hated it.

Lance had been so excited when they learned they'd be taking a break on a mostly tropical planet. This was Lance's home territory. He claimed to have been born on the beach. The way Lance's eyes sparkled when he saw the waves crashing against the shore, Keith almost believed him.

"Come one, Keith! It'll be fun!" Lance yelled as he dragged Keith out of the Black Lion.

"Lance, hang on! Shouldn't we have towels or something?"

"Hunk has towels and food for everyone already. In fact, the rest of the team is already there! You just chose to hide in Black forever."

Keith was frustrated at the taller boy, to say the least. Lance dragged him all the way down into the water, and Keith immediately jumped.

"It's freezing!"

"Stop whining, you baby," a familiar deep feminine voice said behind him. Keith turned around and smiled at Pidge. She was wearing a light green t-shirt and gym shorts. Keith knew she had a swimsuit on underneath, but hated showing a lot of skin.

"Thank goodness you're actually here," Keith said, relieved. "I was scared Lance had lied to me just to get me out of my lion."

"So you've never been to a beach before?" Hunk asked, laying out a red and white checkered blanket. He set a picnic basket down on the middle.

"Never. Dad couldn't ever afford to travel. It was hard enough just to get by. Then after he was gone and I got stuck in the foster system, I didn't have any hope of ever leaving the state. Once I enrolled at the garrison, my sights turned more to space travel than Earth travel."

Pidge sat down on the blanket and began frantically applying sunscreen to her arms, legs, and face. "So help me, I will NOT get a sunburn today."

"Sunburn?" Allura asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"See, Earth is close enough to its star that the UV rays from it can cause harm to human skin with prolonged exposure to it," Pidge explained. "We're also just soft and fragile."

"Not all of us," Hunk said proudly. "I never get sunburn, though I like to protect against UV rays."

Pidge muttered something about being white and fragile, and the group laughed. "You just have baby skin, Pidge," Lance laughed.

Keith helped put sunscreen on the part in Pidge's hair, then began putting some on his own body. "Eh, I tend to burn too. Probably not as bad as you, but I burn."

After they let the sunscreen set, Pidge dragged Keith back to the water. Again, he jumped away as soon as his feet met the ice cold waves. Pidge face-palmed.

"I can't believe my boyfriend is a coward. Serves me right for dating a loner."

"Hey!"

Pidge splashed water on him and he yelped in surprise.

"Oh, it's on, Holt."

"Bring it, Kogane."

Soon enough, Keith was in the water trying to dunk Pidge's head under the rolling waves.

She looked around, but couldn't see Keith. Then she felt arms around her waist, and realized it was too late to get away.

She was suplexed right into an oncoming wave.

As soon as she resurfaced, she yelled out Keith's name.

"I think I win, Pidge," he said, laughing. Then he noticed the concerned look on her face. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"My…my glasses…my brother's glasses…" She was looking around at the water frantically, but it was apparent that it was too murky to see anything from the surface. Then she took a deep breath and went under.

"Guys!" Keith yelled, waving the others down.

"What's wrong? Where's Pidge?" Shiro looked very concerned that the young girl was missing. He hadn't gotten in the water himself, since he was still recovering from being brought back to life by Allura.

"She lost her glasses in the water. Or rather, her brother's glasses. We need help looking for them."

"I'll get Blue," Allura said, running towards the lions. Lance and Hunk ran toward the water where Pidge kept resurfacing for air.

"Shiro, keep your eye on the shoreline. If you seen them, let us know."

The paladins searched for the glasses for a few minutes before Allura flew the Blue Lion further from the shore. She put her armor on and let Blue's lights shine the way, hoping Blue could locate the glasses on her own.

Eventually, all of the Paladins were in their armor so they could stay underwater for longer. It seemed like an eternity before Keith surface, holding up the glasses as they glimmered in the light of the second sunset.

"I found them!" He yelled, running to Pidge. He saw her green helmet surface and she looked at him to see if it was really true.

She tossed her helmet to the side, knowing it would float and be easy to find, then pushed the glasses onto her face. She instantly regretted it, since they were covered in sand and water, and took them off. Tears were in her eyes as she hugged Keith.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much."

"Who wants sandwiches?" Hunk called, the rest of the team having already made their way to shore.

Keith and Pidge had changed into casual clothes and decided to take a walk on the beach. The third sun was just reaching the horizon, casting a warm glow over the water.

"You know," Keith said, holding Pidge's hand, "the beach isn't so bad."

"You're saying that now? After we spent most of the day searching for my brother's glasses, some of us nearly drowning in the process."

Keith chuckled. "It was adventurous. I'm not the coward you claim that I am."

Pidge slugged his shoulder. "Next time you make me lose something, you can find it yourself."

Keith rubbed his arm. "Yeah yeah, whatever. I got them back, didn't I?"

"You are the worst boyfriend ever."

"And yet you're still here with me. I don't think I'm so bad. Besides, if I were the worst, I wouldn't be worthy of you, now would I?"

"You're not wrong. I have high standards. You just happen to meet them by some miracle."

The two shared a laugh. As the sky went dark, they also shared a passionate kiss.

Bonus:

The Blue Lion sat beneath the waves, its light still shining in the place Allura had left it. Actually, she was there for hours, long after the paladins had ceased looking for the glasses. She felt rather disappointed. She knew her paladin princess had completely forgotten about her. So she decided to take revenge.

As she surfaced, she found an empty beach in the dark of night. The other four lions were a little ways up shore.

Her paladin was in the Red Lion, with her old paladin. She approached Red, the soft sand somewhat muffling her footsteps. Then she flickered her lights right on Red's muzzle.

There was an audible scream from inside the lion, and it wasn't from Allura. Lance and Allura jumped apart, having been cuddling prior to their interruption. Allura could feel Blue's laughter.

So, one thing to clear up: These prompts take place on entirely different timelines. Both this one and the previous one take place post season 6, and in different planes. However, the next one will be AU, and will completely ignore most of the show. Be aware of that should AUs bug you.

I know I did the cliché sunset thing, but how can you blame me? They're on the beach, of course there's gonna be a sunset. And as for Allura not understanding sunburn, I believe that Alteans are just immune to UV rays. They're OP. Seems pretty reasonable to me.

And I will maybe possibly perhaps actually start working on Full Dive again once I finish the last prompt. MAYBE. I make no promises.

Also, I used to ship Shallura, but after season 6 and the stuff from SDCC, I've switched in favor of Allurance. Kidge is still my OTP though.


	3. Chapter 3

Kidge Summer Event 2018 Prompt 3: Carnival/Festival

Title: Who Needs a Tunnel of Love?

Pidge had never been fond of town fairs. They had the same rides every year, were incredibly overpriced, and were always full of people she didn't know nor did she want to know. Prior to making friends her senior year of high school, she'd never considered even going to the fair, much less spending the whole day there.

Yet here she was, with her friends, with an unlimited pass that cost way more than it should have.

"I can't believe I just spent 30 bucks for this," she complained, looking at the paper wristband on her left arm.

"I can't believe you let us convince you to do it," Lance said with a chuckle.

Pidge could almost feel that her wallet was lighter, even though she paid with her debit card. "It's hot and dry out here. I'll get a sunburn, or heat stroke, or heat exhaustion, or-"

"Calm down, Pidge." Keith put his arm on her head, leaning against her. "Gosh, you're so short."

"Gosh, you're so emo."

"Careful, Keith," Hunk warned. "She's the queen of sass. You can't win."

"I have before."

"That was once," Pidge defended, "And you didn't really win, you just pulled a knife on me."

Keith laughed. "Your scream was funny enough, but the look on your face? Priceless."

Pidge punched his arm, causing him to jump in alarm at just how much it hurt. "Shut up." Her face was slightly red from embarrassment. "Sometimes I wonder why I'm even friends with you."

Keith mocked being offended. "I'm hurt! After all of the late night movies and roast Lance sessions, you still question our friendship?"

Pidge expected to hear some protest from Lance, but was confused to hear only silence. Well, as much silence as there could be at a fair with hundreds of people and multiple loud rides.

"Did…did they ditch us?"

Keith looked around. "I think they did…what punks."

"If anyone here is a punk, it's you, mullet."

Keith groaned. "It's already annoying enough to hear that from Lance. I don't need it from you, too."

Pidge laughed. "Whatever. Let's just get on a ride. Maybe we'll run into the others later."

First it was one ride. Then three. Before long, the pair had been on every ride but one and had yet to see their friends anywhere.

"Do we just keep missing them? Like, when we're on a ride they're not, and when we're not on a ride they are?" Keith asked, confused.

Pidge looked around. "I don't know about you, but these dense crowds make it hard to see anyway. They probably just go through the crowd differently than we do. If we're not in the same path, odds are we won't see each other."

"But Lance is tall and lanky while Hunk is pretty big. How have we not at least caught some sight of them?"

Pidge shrugged. "Hey, where are we going, anyway?"

"The Ferris wheel. It's the only ride we haven't been on yet."

Pidge blanched. "Um, can we not do the Ferris wheel?"

Keith looked down at her. "Afraid of heights?"

She nodded.

Keith smiled. "I am too. Honestly, I was just going to ride it since we'd already done everything else and I figured that's where you'd want to go next."

"Where I'd want to go? What about what you want?"

Keith laughed. "Pidge, I've really just been following your lead today. I'm making sure you're having fun. I know you didn't want to come, so I'm trying to make up for bringing you here."

Pidge looked up at Keith in amazement. "You did all of this for me?"

Keith nodded, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "I'm not really all that fond of these things either. But…seeing you happy…has…made this…more…fun?"

Pidge laughed. "You're not the most eloquent speaker, are you?"

Keith's cheeks darkened. "…no."

His embarrassment dissolved as he joined Pidge in laughing. This only made them both laugh harder, and before they knew it, they were sitting on a bench, holding their stomachs, sore from laughing so much.

Pidge wiped away a tear. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you laugh like that before."

"I haven't in years," Keith admitted. "It…it feels good to let that out."

Pidge took Keith's hand in hers. "Then I'm glad I got to share that with you."

Keith looked down. "Are we…holding hands?"

"Don't read to much into it, dork, or I'll punch you again." Pidge's cheeks were rosy.

"I'm the dork? You're the one who spends all of your spare time in front of a computer screen."

"I never said I wasn't a dork. However, you definitely are one. Join the club."

"You guys have a dork club?" Keith and Pidge shot apart as Lance leaned over the back of the bench they sat on. Both of their faces were bright red.

"Yeah," Pidge responded in her sassy voice. "Its secondary name is 'The Anti-Lance Club'."

Hunk laughed as he walked up with corn dogs. "Can I join?"

"Hunk!" Lance protested, staring at his best friend in shock.

"Hey, I need some time away from you sometimes. My life doesn't revolve around you."

"That's a shame, because I am the center of the universe."

The group laughed together. Hunk passed out the corn dogs and ketchup packets and they all ate in silence until Pidge spoke up.

"Hey, look at that." She tossed her empty corn dog stick into a nearby garbage bin.

"Oh," Keith said, following suit. "It's a full moon tonight."

"You know where this would look better?" Lance asked, grinning. "The top of the Ferris wheel."

Keith shook his head. "You can go without me."

"Same here," Pidge said, fidgeting with her thumbs.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad." Keith and Pidge found themselves being pushed into the Ferris wheel line by Lance.

"Hey, Lance, let them go. Don't force them to ride it."

Lance leaned over and whispered to Hunk. "I know they're both afraid of heights. But this might be the push they finally need to get together."

Hunk was uncertain, but nodded. "Okay. But if they're mad when they get down, I'm using you as a human shield."

"I deserve it. Now help me keep them from running off at the last minute, because they're smart and are going to try to pull a fast one on us."

"It's not a good idea to think you're smarter than Pidge, you know."

"I'll take the punishment for that one too. It'll all be worth it when it works out."

Hunk looked down at Keith and Pidge, who both appeared to be nervous and uncomfortable, Pidge definitely more so than Keith. He prayed that the wrath the girl would unleash would all be directed at Lance.

The glare he got from her when he blocked off her escape path told him his prayers were in vain.

"Just get in the cart, you big baby!" Lance whined, trying to force Keith into the cart. The ride operator looked amused at the display. "Hunk, I could use some help!"

Hunk had just lifted Pidge over his shoulder, and she was definitely unhappy to be there. With his free arm, he grabbed one of Keith's, and with Lance's help, managed to muscle him into the sit, setting Pidge down next to them. Lance tossed the lap bar down, and the ride operator, who Pidge swore had a 20$ bill sticking out of his pocket, started the ride right away.

Pidge gripped the safety bar as they were lifted higher and higher. They stopped frequently as people got on and off of the ride. At one point, they were stopped up at the apex, and Pidge couldn't stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. Her knuckles were white and her hands were shaking.

Keith had never seen her so afraid.

Sure, he had that pit in his stomach that told him he could die at any moment, but he was much better at hiding his fear. He reached over and wrapped his arm around Pidge. She initially flinched at his touch, but quickly recovered and practically fell apart into him. He could feel her tears through his shirt. He started rubbing circles on her back as the ride began moving again, this time in a continuous motion. All the carts had been filled.

And of course, the next time they stopped, they were just past the apex.

"Keith," Pidge murmured, her voice shaky. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. With the reflection of the moonlight, they sparkled.

"Yeah?" He responded, not breaking eye contact.

"Thank you."

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers for a moment in a chaste kiss before pulling back. "Thank you, Pidge. You made this day better than I could have imagined."

She sat in stunned silence, before smiling and throwing her arms around him.

When they got off the ride, they were smiling.

Oh boy! This one took a bit longer. I just couldn't find the right inspiration to write. It wasn't until I turned on some of my favorite music that I had it. I've made a mental note that music helps my writing, and will try to employ that strategy in the future.

With this, we're done with the summer event! Thanks to everyone who read. I'll get back to writing Full Dive, my multi-chapter Kidge fic. Keep an eye out for it!


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